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There is a three quarter wall in our house that divides our kitchen and living room. Since we moved here, my husband and I have talked about what to do with that wall….take out the wall and open up the space (what I want to do), or turn it into a half wall (what he wants to do), or cut a “window” into it. Choices, choices, but for now it stays just like it is. Now the problem was that the kitchen side of this wall was covered in wallpaper.
Wallpaper does have it’s place, but never in any of my homes. I always take it down. Always. My friend warned me before I started to peel that there were some serious wall issues underneath. I soon learned that she was so right and that the wallpaper had a well deserved purpose being on that wall!
My son helped me when he got excited and picked up the scraper or water bottle pretty often on his own accord to help.
Fortunately for me he LOVES squirt bottles and has gotten VERY acquainted with a scraper and a paint roller these last few years. I love him joining me in the crazy things I just must attempt :). I’m just awaiting the day when he tells me, “Mommy, you’re not doing it right.”
And there it was. Look at that eruption of hideous gold tones underneath that wallpaper!
Upon the unearthing of this gold atrocity, there were also many areas of the wall that needed some extra TLC with applications of joint compound. That patch down in the center, next to the outlet, looked like a drywall patch gone wrong. It was uneven and flimsy, obviously not attached to a stud and covered incorrectly all those years ago.
I can’t say that I know the exact method to repair many things, but I’m slowly learning as my husband teaches me along the way. Thanks to my Dad I learned how to paint a room correctly (and many other skills), and thanks to my husband, I have learned how to replace electrical outlets and switches, use power tools (many different drills), hang my own decorations on the wall, and do a little home repair work.
We have worked on fixing up 4 of our homes/rentals in the past 10 years and I continue to learn. We are confident this is the last place we’ll live in, so we are doing it right and just the way we want it.
However, it was not GOLD PAINT! There was a small pocketed area down at the bottom and I started to peel…..and peel…and peel it did! Nathan ran back for the fun!
After 2 days we discovered that only the lower half peeled off to reveal what felt like an oil based blue underneath. I think that’s why it peeled off. Latex based paint does not cover oil based well at all. So then, Nathan learned to use joint compound and we covered a zillion divots and imperfections in the wall. And then we sanded, and sanded. . .
And before I decided to patch, instead of peel more, I stared at this gold/tan/blue spotted wall for nearly two weeks…part in procrastination, and partly to see if I should decide to peel the really stuck on portion of the gold. After two weeks, I decided “No” was the answer, and just patched that seam with joint compound and sanded to make it even.
Moving on…we primed with an oil based primer. I prefer the Zinsser brand .
And after once coat of primer, it was starting to look better:
I painted gray on the upper 3rd of the wall.
I wanted the wall to have some design and whimsy to it, so I opted for a patterned design. I cut a zigzag shape out of regular computer paper to use as a guide, and then used masking tape to mark out a repeated pattern. I made sure to measure down from the top of the wall to make sure my line stayed straight.
I started drawing a tighter zig zag, but changed my mind and ended up widening it.
Using a roller and a quart of Chalkboard Paint
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I painted the lower half of the wall. After one coat it looked like this:
And after a second coat:
I added a few practical decorations in the corner. I used a A palette shelf (bought at a favorite local shop of mine) for a few of my favorite cookbooks and some art.
To finish it off I added a vintage looking wall clock from Ikea, and turned a piece of Lexan .
To create the memo board, I left the outer plastic on the front and back of the Lexan. I then made a quick template with a post-it note in the corner, and drilled a hole. Drill slowly and steadily (do not use pressure on the power drill), so that the Lexan won’t crack.
After drilling through all four corners, I the plastic removed rom both sides of the Lexan and secured it to the wall with 4 counter sink screws.
And my boy got to testing the wall out right away that next morning! Nathan’s first order of business was to draw a train track…and he went big!
Even Daddy got in on the action and drew a steam engine for Nathan : ).
And we draw, and draw, and draw now! The invitation is always before us and we love it! We even found Non-Toxic White Dustless Chalk .
<iframe style=”width:120px;height:240px;” marginwidth=”0″ marginheight=”0″ scrolling=”no” frameborder=”0″ src=”//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?ServiceVersion=20070822&OneJS=1&Operation=GetAdHtml&MarketPlace=US&source=ss&ref=as_ss_li_til&ad_type=product_link&tracking_id=joy2sew-20&language=en_US&marketplace=amazon®ion=US&placement=B010BTLTSG&asins=B010BTLTSG&linkId=17d1cc6df33dfc8cb39ff714f71c8e38&show_border=true&link_opens_in_new_window=true”></iframe>There is less mess, and while that white chalk haze seems to linger after being water washed, it’s still so much fun!
We are so pleased with how it turned out!
What to draw, what to draw : )…Turns out that “erasing it” and painting over the chalk with water and a paintbrush are equally as fun to a toddler! Gotta love that too!
UPDATE: Years later we are still loving our chalkboard wall. The paint has lasted well. We enjoy using it as the back drop for celebrations! Check out How to throw a Simple Birthday Party!
